help me kitty

by norahgaughan on October 23, 2007

Margery’s cat Fred assists during our recent photoshoot.

Just last week, a curious reader (Hi Jeni) asked me if I was going to include the requisite cat shots in my blog. W…e…l…l, now that you’ve asked, how can I resist? This has been one of those crazy, outrageously busy few weeks when Margery and I frantically prepare for photography up until the VERY last minute and then the roller coaster ride of 4 days of photo shoot happens. I’m not prepared (nor allowed) to give too much away just yet, but with the assistance of both of our cats you can get a smiggen of a sneak peak into Spring ’08.

You’ve met the elegant and lovable (21 year old!) Fred, at the top of this post. Here is My blur o feline fur, Lena. Yes, yes, I am aware that this is not a great photograph. It is, however, telling. Lena is so very aloof UNTIL I desperately need to work on something. There she was smothering the Suede cardigan I was trying to sew buttons on, when it occurred to me that this was perfect blog fodder! Of course, THE SECOND I got out the camera she became very elusive and impossible to photograph.

…and so he doesn’t feel left out – my other cat Jake:

More of a camera ham, he’s featured in Sabrina Gschwandtner’s book KnitKnit so he may soon be more famous than I am in the knitting community.

My 16 year old Bashful used to love to curl up in my lap when I was knitting and leave her long hair all over my project. Now that she can no longer jump as easily my 7 year old Bandit has taken over! He’s a big neutered tom and thinks nothing of lying down on top of what I’m working on. Sometimes I can continue knitting, sliding the yarn along under him, but there are times when his size is just too much! He loves to rub his face on my needles while I’m knitting and I’m scared that he’s going to poke himself!

This is my first time visiting and I really like the pictures with the cats! They add flare and color. It is true that cats and yarn go hand and hand! And they cannot before gotten!. Cats do know how to hold a knitter’s yarn hostage when they don’t get any atteintion.

So what about the puppy(s) that steal my yarn??! even if some of them are ten years old they all think my ball of carefully wound yarn is the greatest toy! I lost my last cat about 5 years ago, he was such an old man that chasing a ball of yarn was so beneath his highness!

My cats are yarn snobs. They turn up their noses at acrylic, and chew holes in Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. One of the 3yr olds loves my angora shawl so much that he falls into a blissful doze whenever it is wrapped around him — the same cat also likes to knead a capelet in Lopi-light. But you can’t trust him around silk!